“Live to Train, Train to Live”. A phrase that speaks to a lot on the values we hold in life.
Although our lives now have more leisure time than it may have had 200 years ago the fact that most people still do work a job to provide for their families still exists, though it may vary from culture to culture and by socio economic group.
Perhaps, at least in 1st World Countries, the mind set has shifted from living to work to ensuring that one can enjoy the finer things in life, the ability to earn money is still paramount in one form or another in order to achieve these goals.
With the focus shifting away from the work life and focusing more on the leisure it also means that perhaps one’s job is no longer the most important thing in life.
A good balance certainly ensures better fulfillment but also causes certain potential pitfalls in the workplace.
Firefighting is one profession where one’s focus must be 100% on the job, this means both physical and mental preparation which does not simply begin when one “punches in on the clock”.
To be less that ones best as an emergency responder is compensating the lives of both the individual and fellow responders, as well as the citizens which they serve.
Unlike many other professions a mistake in firefighting costs lives, lives of citizens, lives of firefighters, and changes the lives of loved ones forever.
Being at your best as a firefighter is critical, both in attitude, physically and in preparedness.
Preparedness means coming to work with the proper mindset, ensuring attention to detail is observed at all times, and never letting complacency be a part of one’s makeup.
Training means both training the mind and training the body, ensuring that you are the absolute best you can possibly be, ensuring that your deficiencies become your attributes.
When I started in the Fire Service some 38 years ago the mechanical concept of fire pumps was pretty foreign to me, and this honestly made me very nervous.
I was nervous to let down those around me, and to be inadequate at a part of the job I was hired to do, so, I asked questions, I read books, I went underneath the Pumper and looked at how the pump worked and figured out how to trouble shoot problems.
What this really means is don’t shy away from your weaknesses as its always easier to take the easy job of concentrating on what you know well.
Train on everything, train on every possible situation, train during the day, train during the night.
And yes, even train on things you think you know well, it’s amazing how much one can forget in a stressful moment, a moment when citizens are screaming at you to save their child! Train like your life depends upon it, because it does!
At Firewise we are experts in NFPA based training and deliver this Globally.
NFPA is a Standard that is developed through committees of practitioners meaning the firefighters who actually do the job have full input in the Standard.
NFPA provides both theoretical and skills-based performance objectives thus providing a professional and legal document.
NFPA covers all aspects of firefighting but in the case of training allows for curriculum development and content delivery with flexibility to be delivered by a Certified NFPA 1041 Instructor to fire services across the globe.
Our company has been delivering training in the Middles East, South Asia, and for NATO since 2011, which encompasses our training operations outside of North America.
At present day Firewise is delivering NFPA 1006 Tower-Crane rescue at the Qiddyia Project in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for Saudi Sicli, a company delivering fire rescue services for the project.
Qiddyia is one, if not the largest most expansive construction project in the World.
This project alone spans 367 square kms and has around 30 active Tower-Cranes, the number of cranes will expand as the project expands.
Firewise’s Technical Rescue expert and Master Instructor David Dunt is leading this cutting-edge training.
David has delivered NFPA 1006 Technical Rescue around the Globe as well as serving as a Chief of Training for a large Canadian Fire Service.
David’s resume also boosts several high-profile rescues as lead of both the Toronto and Barrie Fire Services Technicial Rescue Teams.
He is without a doubt one of the top experts in Technical Rescue anywhere as well as an expert in NFPA 1006 delivery.
The current training being delivered for Saudi Sicli at Qiddyia is thanks to the progressive vison of Sicli COO Ahmad Sagr, and due to the ongoing support and expertise of Qiddyia Director of Fire and Rescue Operations Brent Briard.
With the amount of construction involving Tower Cranes at this site, according to Mr.
Briard the likelihood of an incident is inevitable, with the highest possibility being a medical event to the Crane Operator which could be 40 meters in the air.
As the current technical rescue training at Qiddiya moved into day 10 of Technical Rope Rescue Technician Level component, reputation of this unique training also grew which prompted the Manager of Security for the site asking for a demonstration to mitigate a particular area of concern.
This would involve a scenario where a worker would need to be rescued by setting up a high point on the upper plateau of the site.
This area was a cliff face which vertically stretched some 20 metres to a horizontal ledge and then extended another 165 metres to the base of the lower plateau.
The team prepared for the evolution by establishing multiple anchor points adjacent to the cliff edge ensuring that these met the NFPA Standard of being capable of supporting a load equal or greater than 4535 kgs.
Also based on NFPA a main line and belay line were attached to both rescuers with each attached to a separate anchor point, building in a redundancy and thus safety factor.
The rescuers were lowered to the horizontal ledge, from this point the rescuers were able to conduct a reconnaissance and thus assess the potential injured worker and determine if the operation would mean the victim would be lowered from this shelf to the base of the plateau or if they would have to raise the victim back to the upper plateau.
From this point the reconnaissance team was raised by a preplanned converted raising system and they were soon back on the upper plateau to convey all necessary information to the Rescue Sector Officer and set up a patient rescue system based on the information obtained thus allowing for the Incident Action plan to be altered as per the information obtained.
The rescue team demonstrate a safe, strategic, and sequential approach to this type of technical rescue providing a clear demonstration of the competence level of the rescuer.
This competence was achieved by training, training to a Standard, training delivered by an extremely competent instructor who ensured all of the required competence test were successfully achieved by the students prior to attempting the rescue scenario in question.
Of this evolution, Saudi Sicli Director of Fire and Rescue Operations said the following “Saudi Sicli is literally elevating emergency response.
The Saudi Sicli Fire Department’s Special Response Team (SRT) has successfully executed a one-of-a-kind high-angle rescue drill at the heart of the Qiddiya Project, delivering precision, coordinated, and international-level expertise.
Caried out at heights exceeding 160 meters around a world class football Stadium and the upcoming entertainment park, the operations were led by NFPA certified technical rope technicians, trained to perform in the most demanding scenarios.
The high stakes drill was further enhanced by use of our Matrice 30T drone, which served as a vital “eye in the sky”, providing real time aerial surveillance, situational awareness, and visual support to the rescue team on the ground.
Executed to the highest International Standards, this training reinforces Saudi Sicli’s commitment to advanced fire and rescue readiness across Saudi Arabia’s mega project”.
This training project is proof of what solid training delivered to a recognized standard can produce.
Training is the critical element for all emergency responders.
What must also be kept in mind is that skills atrophy or the erosion of skills is a real thing, especially in the more technical realm.
The skills learned must be practiced ongoingly, you must also practise the same way you respond, this will ensure that you are at your best when an emergency arises.
Stressful situations will cause one to forget critical required elements by nature alone, thus the “muscle memory” provided by ongoing training may be the only thing that will guarantee success at the incident.
This training is relevant for every rank within the emergency response team although it will vary based on area of responsibility.
Train like your life depends upon it, because it does!
